Councils help to recruit an army of foster carers

16 May 2011

Hundreds of potential foster carers are coming forward to provide much needed homes for children in care thanks to successful campaigns run by councils around the country.

Ahead of Foster Care Fortnight, local authorities have been running recruitment drives to raise awareness of the plight of children and young people in need of a loving family home.

An estimated 57,000 children and young people live with 37,000 foster families in the UK, but there is currently a shortfall of more than 10,000 foster carers. An extra 3,700 children needed a foster family in 2010 compared with 2009.

The pressure on councils to recruit foster carers has never been greater with increasing competition from expensive independent fostering agencies and a rise in the number of children in care.

A shortage of foster carers creates significant financial and other pressures on councils at a time when their budgets are already being squeezed.

A lack of suitable foster carers can mean councils have to:

buy in more expensive foster care from independent providers; limit the placement options available for children in care; place children a long way from their home; reduce the cash available for preventative services, which may stop children entering the care system in the first place.Baroness Shireen Ritchie, Chairman of the LGA Children and Young People Board, said:

There are many reasons why children are unable to stay in their own family homes. Many of them may have experienced some trauma and will need understanding and patience. What they all have in common is the need for a secure and safe environment, as well as care, kindness and stability.“With soaring numbers of children coming into the care system, the pressure on councils to find and recruit local foster carers has never been greater. Councils up and down the country have been working hard to raise awareness of the pressing need for foster carers and to recruit families to this very special role.

“Despite the success of council-run foster care recruitment campaigns there is still a desperate need for more people to come forward as carers. There is no such thing as a typical foster carer. What is needed is a diverse range of people with different skills and qualities so that more children can be placed in the right home.

“We would urge anyone thinking about taking that first step to pick up the phone or visit your local council website and find out more about what the role involves.”

Case studies

Lancashire

Lancashire County Council has 1,300 looked after children in its care. Since launching its recruitment campaign it has reached its initial target of 1,000 inquiries about becoming a foster carer. But it is continuing to urge people to contact them as they receive new requests to place children and young people every week. The council has requests for placements for an average six to eight children per week.

Derbyshire

Derbyshire County Council currently has 630 children in care and aims to attract at least 70 additional carers each year to meet all their placement needs.

In the last financial year, the council spent over £3million on more than 70 care placements from the independent sector.

As a result of an ongoing fostering recruitment campaign, launched in 2008, the council has secured 50 new foster homes and attracts approx 750 expressions of interest in fostering a year.

The campaign has included regional TV and newspaper adverts and bus featuring full-brand livery.

South Tyneside

South Tyneside Council currently has 170 children placed with 130 local authority foster carers. This is an increase of 25% over the last two years.

A total of 16 foster care assessments are currently underway with carers interested in the over fives age range.

An unprecedented number of prospective foster carers started their pre-assessment training recently.

Traffic to the fostering section of the council's website increased by 53% in the four weeks following the launch of the 'I care about fostering' campaign, which encouraged the public to register their support for South Tyneside's foster carers and to sign up for fostering updates.

Cheshire East

There are currently 180 foster carers looking after more than 300 children in Cheshire East.

Cheshire East Council launched a campaign to recruit 40 new foster carers called 'A Child Without a Home is Like a Duck Out of Water'.

The campaign featured a number of multi-coloured plastic ducks, roadshows and adverts on buses and in local media.

The campaign generated 48 enquiries in the second week alone, compared to between two and 15 enquiries in the each of the previous months.

Gloucestershire

There are currently 370 children in Gloucestershire being fostered out of 480 children in care. In the past year, the county council has welcomed 37 new foster carers, who have offered a home to some of Gloucestershire's most vulnerable children.
There were 36 enquiries to Gloucestershire County Council's fostering recruitment team in March. Most of these people talked to the council's fostering teams when they were out and about at supermarkets for the Black and Minority Ethnic and Share the Care recruitment weeks. Of the 26 foster carer enquiries, six were from BME households.

Foster Care Fortnight runs from May 16-29. For more information see www.couldyoufoster.org.uk/fcf

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